Li Magazine 30th Edition by Landlord Investor Magazine

LANDLORD | PROPERTY | INVESTMENT

LANDLORD INVESTOR MAGAZINE 30TH EDITION | 2017

LIS CELEBRATES ITS 50TH SHOW / I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW THE PAIN HAS GONE / LICENSING: DOES IT ACTUALLY WORK? / TIME FOR CHANGE IN OUR SCHOOLS / THE EFFECTS OF TAX & FINANCE CHANGES ON BUY-TO-LET / PUNISHING PRIVATE LANDLORDS: HELP OR HINDRANCE? / NEW LEASEHOLD RELATIVITY GRAPH / Q&A WITH MIKE HOLT FROM THE LANDLORDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PENSION / BUSTING THE MYTHS ON TENANCY DEPOSIT PROTECTION

CELEBRATING 30 ISSUES OF COMMENT, ADVICE AND ANALYSIS FROM THE LEADING VOICES OF THE PROPERTY INVESTMENT MARKET

#LIMAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY INDUSTRY EXPERTS COVERING ALL ASPECTS OF BUY-TO-LET

UK’s leading property investment event Our next show is

THURSDAY 12 OCTOBER – MANCHESTER Old Trafford - Manchester United Football Club

WEDNESDAY 25 OCTOBER

TUESDAY 7 NOVEMBER

CARDIFF

LONDON

Cardiff City Stadium

Olympia Conference Centre

For further information regarding our 2017 shows please call 020 8656 5075 or visit our website: landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk

@LandlordInShow

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Welcome This month, Landlord Investor Magazine celebrates its 30th issue and Landlord Investment Show celebrates its 50th show. Three years ago, we held our inaugural Surrey show in Croydon, and launched Landlord Investor Magazine just months later. During that time, we have seen a new Government, the introduction of challenging legislation affecting landlords, house prices across the UK rising and then slowing and the effects of the social housing crisis we’re now seeing come to light. This issue, our regular contributors focus on what today’s landlord needs to know to run their businesses, whether they’re an accidental landlord or a seasoned investor.

Welcome to the 30th edition of Landlord Investor Magazine

Contents

4 6

Tom Entwistle talks about growth in population and how this affects the BTL market, and the country as a whole. Peter Littlewood covers licensing and how it has changed over the years, Simon Zutshi opens up about his forays into charity work and education of school children learning life-skills and Paul Mahoney offers advice on how to deal with recent tax changes.

Tenancy Deposit Scheme look into the myths surrounding deposit protection and Kevin Wright talks about the age-old problem of how to realise your cash profits – and fast.

September is a busy time for landlords and investors and for us it’s no different – with our next shows in Kent on 26 September, Manchester, Cardiff then Olympia for our biennial show, we’re at full speed until the end of the year. Join us for complimentary advice, networking and to meet leading suppliers of property investment services. To register for show tickets to any of our events please visit www.landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk

LANDLORD INVESTOR MAGAZINE Editor Tracey Hanbury editor@landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk Editorial Contributors Tracey Hanbury Tom Entwistle Peter Littlewood Simon Zutshi Paul Mahoney Paul Shamplina Steve Jones Mike Holt Mike Morgan EnviroVent Follow us

Design Marc Riley Advertising Beverley Meliniotis Marketing Anna Jackson

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Contact Telephone: 020 8656 5075 landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk Tenants History Ltd, 27 Stafford Road, Croydon CR0 4HA

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Statements and opinions expressed in articles, reviews and other materials herein are those of the authors; the editors and publishers. While every care has been taken in the compilation of this information and every attempt made to present upto-date and accurate information, we cannot guarantee that inaccuracies will not occur. Tenants History Limited and our contributors will not be held responsible for any claim, loss, damage or inconvenience caused as a result of any information within these pages or any information accessed through the promoted links.

LANDLORD INVESTOR 30TH EDITION

14 20 23 24 30

Show Update LIS celebrates its 50th show

Industry Update I can see clearly now the pain has gone!

Industry Update Licensing does it actually work?

Investment Time for change in our Schools!

Finance The effects of tax & finance changes on buy to let

Professional Insight Punishing private landlords – help or hindrance?

Leasehold Update New leasehold relativity graph

Industry Spotlight Q&A: Tracey Hanbury speaks to Mike Holt

TDS Busting the myths on tenancy deposit protection

Service Provider EnviroVent shortlisted in national energy awards

Meet the team TRACEY HANBURY

RYAN DENNINGTON

T: 0208 656 5075 M: 07931 308 875 tracey@landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk

T: 0208 656 5075 M: 07931 308 856 ryan@landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk

STEVE HANBURY

BEVERLEY MELINIOTIS

T: 0208 656 5075 M: 07429 683 046 steve@landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk

T: 0208 656 5075 beverley@landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk

EDITOR & SALES DIRECTOR

SALES & EVENTS MANAGER

DIRECTOR

ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER

ANNA JACKSON

MARKETING MANAGER

LES HANBURY DIRECTOR

T: 0208 656 5075 anna@landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk

FRAN ROBINS

MARC RILEY

SALES & EVENTS MANAGER

DESIGN MANAGER

T: 0208 656 5075 M: 07950 284 615 fran@landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk

T: 0208 656 5075 marc@landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk

ALICIA CELA

CHARLOTTE DYE

ACCOUNTS

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T: 0208 656 5075 info@landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk

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31/08/2017 16:24

30TH EDITION LANDLORD INVESTOR

SHOW UPDATE

TRACEY HANBURY LANDLORD INVESTMENT SHOW FOUNDER

National Landlord Investment Show celebrates its

50 since its inception in 2013. th

National Landlord Investment Show celebrates its 50th show since its inception in 2013. After an unbeatable year so far, the UK’s leading property investment event will bring together local landlords & leading property investment services at a further four shows around the UK. National Landlord Investment Show has just celebrated its 50th show to date at the Sussex show, Brighton Racecourse on 13 September and will then move to the Kent Event Centre on Tuesday 26 September, before heading to venues in Manchester and Cardiff, then onto London for the biannual Olympia event. It’s been a successful few months for the show, with its June event at Olympia sparking off lobbying to Parliament by our guest speaker Iain Duncan Smith MP. The show gained national and industry press coverage at its speaker panel around prohibitive landlord laws – and with expert speakers and property professionals at each of the remaining shows this year, visitors can expect this to be one of the topics addressed and debated in the coming months.

30TH EDITION LANDLORD INVESTOR

The next Olympia show, taking place on 7 November, will bring back the Expert Property Panel, including Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP, and will discuss the progress of his lobbying on behalf of landlords nationwide, as well as any other changes and insights in both landlord regulations and the wider UK property market. The exhibitions offer local landlords and property investors a chance to keep up to date on the buy-to-let market in each area, expand their business networks and connect with leading suppliers of property investment, tax, legal, insurance and mortgage services. It’s also a perfect opportunity for those thinking of entering the market to get expert advice on opportunities available. The National Landlord Investment Show has continued to dedicate its offering to education and advice about the buyto-let market. Visitors to the shows can join complimentary seminars hosted by property experts with unparalleled experience in the UK property investment market – and at the Kent show they’ll be able to drop by for free

LANDLORD INVESTOR 30TH EDITION

1-2-1 advice in the NEW Landlord Advice Centre, in association with Southern Landlord’s Association (SLA).

Forthcoming shows in 2017

Investors will be able to source the latest property services from renowned brands such as Royal Bank of Scotland, Valuation Office Agency and Ikea Business, as well companies such as Nova Financial, Mortgages for Business, Total Landlord Insurance, LOFT Interiors and Clive Emson Land & Property Auctioneers who offer local or niche buy-to-let services in areas from tax, to mortgages to legal.’

Manchester – Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester, 12 October

There is also a complimentary networking event in the morning of the show for visitors to meet new contacts and discuss local issues. Tenancy Deposit Scheme, exhibiting for the third year running, attests to the popularity of the show, ‘National Landlord Investment Show is a really well run event and has gained the popularity it deserves within the industry.’ The events take place from 09.00am and tickets to all shows are complimentary.

Kent - Kent Event Centre, Detling, 26 September

Cardiff – Cardiff City Football Club, 25 October London – Olympia Conference Centre, London, 7 November Find out more about the venues around the UK or register free at www.landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk

About Landlord Investment Show National Landlord Investment Show is the UK’s leading property investment exhibition, providing solutions, networking and advice for new seasoned and investors in the buy-to-let market. Established in 2013 and operating in property hotspots throughout the country, it has now run 48 shows successfully, and has provided property investment solutions for over 25,000 landlords in the last 12 months alone, a growth of 31% since 2015. www.landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk 5

INDUSTRY UPDATE

TOM ENTWISTLE LANDLORDZONE

I can see clearly now the pain has gone! Would that be the case for the buy-to-let (BTL) landlord? Paraphrasing the 1970s Jonny Nash song, it continues: “…I can see all obstacles in my way, gone are the dark clouds that had me blind, It’s gonna be a bright bright, bright sunshiny day? But seems the Government is still intent on attacking the buy-to-let (BTL) landlord, and with the latest mortgage rules coming in this month (September 2017), in particular portfolio landlords with more than four properties. There seems to be no let-up in one antilandlord measure after another. But faced with UK housing demand based on population growth statistics being “off the scale” over the next 25 years, will institutional investment in build-to-rent be sufficient, or will Government yet be forced to acknowledge the importance of the small-scale BTL landlord?

Will Chancellor Philip Hammond take the opportunity to scale back some of the previous Chancellor George Osborne’s punitive BTL regime and make some changes to the property tax and mortgage rules in his forthcoming budget on Wednesday 22 November? Will he address the calls for stamp duty changes and relax some of the punitive taxes now being forced on BTL landlords? The past twelve months have seen significant changes to British society: a history making referendum campaign followed by a snap General Election, resulting in a weakened government. These have done nothing to remove the obstacles in our way. Continuing UK terrorist attacks in the summer, allegedly mostly carried out by home grown individuals, present

government with some major challenges: the maintenance of social cohesion; a so called “housing crisis” not unrelated to increasing levels of immigration, and with the related problems of integration and the need to more effectively control our borders. All this at a time when a minority government, struggling to hold itself together with differing cabinet views on our approach to Europe, embarks on the most important negotiations in our lifetimes – Brexit. With this background and this degree of uncertainty it’s difficult to place a great deal of faith in any forecast. Indeed forecasting the future has a long history of being totally wrong.

30TH EDITION LANDLORD INVESTOR

INDUSTRY UPDATE

If the population continues to grow at the rate of over 500,000 a year, as the report forecasts, by 2039 there will be just under 10 million (9.7m) more people living in the UK.

I can recall as a student doing a study on the future demand for automobile garage services. At that time in the 1970s, showing my age now, the SMMT were producing figures which showed that the number of mechanics and garages would be “off the scale”.

So, if the population continues to grow at the rate of over 500,000 a year, as the report forecasts, by 2039 there will be just under 10 million (9.7m) more people living in the UK – that’s enough, says the report, “to populate Greater Manchester three times over”.

What happened in reality was far from the forecast. What these studies failed to take into account was the improvement in reliability of automobiles: improving materials and the addition of electronics which reduced the work of servicing to almost zero. Where there were five small garages within the village where I grew up, employing perhaps 25 to 30 people, there are none today. How wrong could the forecasts be?

The figures are simply staggering: if this pans out, not only will we need 4 million more homes, and the land on which to build them, new hospitals, schools, roads, jobs and leisure facilities all also be needed.

Even so, the UK’s forecasted population growth statistics are hard to ignore. The challenges and opportunities presented should on paper, at least, bode well for all residential landlords. According to a recently published Civitas report: “Britain’s Demographic Challenge: The implications of the UK’s rapidly increasing population”, in the year ending 30 June 2016 the estimated population of the United Kingdom increased by an average of 1,475 per day – a total increase in the year of 538,500. This equates to a small town of 10,355 people being added to the country every single week. If the UK average of 2.3 people per dwelling is maintained into the future, though we know some immigrants are living in conditions much more densely packed than that, 641 new dwellings per day would be needed to house 1,475 people, says the report.

LANDLORD INVESTOR 30TH EDITION

Unlike the automobile forecasts above, in the case of population growth it’s hard to see how these forecasts might change substantially, even though it is impossible to be precise about future population growth. The challenges it presents are unlikely to go away over the next quarter of a century. Even if Brexit results in a much more restrictive immigration policy, given the current trajectory, it will be at least 10 years before any reduction in population worked its way through the system – as the report states, policy changes take at least 10 years to have any significant impact. So, the result of any changes made now will not be seen much before 2030. The study is underpinned by some petty reliable sources, for example The Office of National Statistics (ONS) projections say that the population of the UK will increase by 9.7 million to reach 74.3 million by 2039. This statistic would require 4.25 million more dwellings or one every three minutes during that time period. Even post Brexit the UK is likely to continue to exert a considerable

gravitational pull for immigrants, with the emergence of English as the lingua franca of the business, financial and technological worlds. The rate of growth in the UK’s population will continue to increase due to the higher birth rates of some of the nationalities of the new arrivals. One quarter of the births in the UK in 2011 were to women born outside the UK. If these forecasts come to pass they will only serve to emphasise the difference in population densities compared with France and Germany. By 2080 the report predicts, the UK will have become the most populous country in Europe and be 1.5 times more densely populated than Germany and 2.7 times than France. Arguing for a national debate on these issues, author of the report Lord Hodgson writes: “The people of this country are entitled to have laid out before them the range of challenges and opportunities that demographic change will cause. Given the apparent scale of that demographic change and the long-term impact of any policy decisions such a debate should begin sooner rather than later.” These mind blowing statistics present our society and our governments with some major challenges. They also present landlords with some major opportunities, so long as our governments can see the benefits private landlords can bring to this, and hopefully they can provide them with more help and encouragement. Perhaps then, we will see more bright sunshiny days? Tom Entwistle is Editor of LandlordZONE® and an experienced landlord himself.

INDUSTRY UPDATE

PETER LITTLEWOOD SOUTHERN LANDLORDS ASSOCIATION

Licensing does it actually work? Licensing was introduced in the 2004 Housing Act, and actually came into force April 2006. The main part of licensing initially consisted of two parts:-

But we await notification from the Government on both of these.

1. Mandatory licensing of larger HMOs, which:

2. Discretionary Licensing – i.e. it is at the discretion of the Council whether they implement it, or not.

i. has 5 or more sharers:

not related;

sharing vital facilities (kitchen; bathroom);

Note that the definition of an HMO is 3 or more occupiers; not related; sharing vital facilities.

ii. and is 3, or more storeys.

Note that this part of Mandatory Licensing is likely to change to drop the storeys requirement, i.e. any HMO of 5 occupiers or more. There was also some talk from the Government of any flat in a block including commercial also requiring a Mandatory Licence – e.g. a flat over a shop.

LANDLORD INVESTOR 30TH EDITION

Note that there are two types of Discretionary Licence:

i. Additional Licensing:

for any HMO not covered by the Mandatory scheme, above, and;

ii. Selective Licensing:

for any non-HMO.

The Council can’t just introduce Discretionary Licensing, when and where they want to. They have to undertake a period of consultation. The Act states the council must: “take reasonable steps to consult persons who are likely to be affected by the designation; and consider any

representations made in accordance with the consultation and not withdrawn”, and also show that licensing is a part of an overall plan to curb the perceived problems. The perceived probes include poor property management; anti-social behavior not being controlled; depression of rents because of the problems. All this must be evidenced. A Discretionary Licence is only for a maximum of 5 years, and cannot be renewed. A new scheme can be introduced which happens to be identical to the old one, but has to consulted on again. Additionally any application for a Selective Licensing scheme covering more than 20% of the area has to be approved by the Secretary of State. Finally, any scheme introduced cannot make a ‘profit’; it can only cover its costs. However, following a court case the Council can use part of the income received to monitor and ‘police’ the scheme.

INDUSTRY UPDATE

3. After the main licensing scheme was introduced a further category was added: converted blocks of flats not meeting the 1991 Building Regulations (these were mostly about fire precautions), and where more than a third of the flats are let out on short term lets (i.e. an AST). These are known as Section 257 HMOs, after where it appears in the 2004 Housing Act. Many Councils do not fully understand Section 257 and generally ignore them. The exception is Hastings where they are proposing a scheme to only licence 257. Confusingly if the 257 HMO contains a flat that itself is an HMO (3 or more occupiers; not related; sharing vital facilities) and is subject to Additional Licensing it is likely there would be two fees to pay. As I said, licensing is confusing, especially Section 257 HMOs! The early days In the early days of licensing most Councils simply applied the Mandatory scheme. Then gradually Councils started to implement discretionary schemes. This came to head when Newham infamously introduced Additional and Selective for every property in the borough; at least you knew where you were; if you had a property in Newham it has to be Licenced. Since then licensing has been a political football with many parties campaigning in local elections with their manifesto including a promise to licence – even though they can’t make such a pledge without the appropriate consultation. They campaign for it believing that the whole of the PRS is rotten and needs controlling, and incidentally brings in money; not enough to break the ‘no profit’ rule, but enough to be able to keep staff in place who otherwise would lose their job. This is often encouraged by Council staff, because they see licensing as a way of giving them more power.

The reality We now have a whole plethora of schemes across the country. They are very difficult to challenge because they can only be challenged by a full Judicial Review at the High Court which is complicated and expensive, even if you win. The challenges that have been won thus far have been on the basis of a flawed consultation. Enfield was won because the Council had used old data without updating it and hadn’t consulted outside their borders, on the basis not all landlords actually live in the borough. Hyndburn was thrown for similar reasons, but re-consulted and brought it in. We also have a whole plethora of conditions insisted on. Brighton and Hove was insisting on minimum room sizes until we sponsored an appeal to the tribunal; Salford insist on the licence holder visiting the property at least once a month, even though that would be construed as harassment. They also insist on all occupants having a printed copy of all the appliance manuals – that’s a lot of printing; Hynburn insist on an EPC prepared in the last 5 years, even though they have a shelf life of 10 years. And I expect there are a lot more out there. We also have a whole mixture of different schemes varying from the Woking proposed scheme to Licence a small number of properties in the city centre, where there are known problems; through to many borough wide schemes. Currently? This is a misunderstood piece of legislation. It was brought in to allow Councils to control poorly managed properties; forcing the owner to appoint a named manager, and to be subject to existing rules and regulations. As already mentioned, it has become a political football, with the landlord being used as the ball! The future? We are not entirely sure of the Governments attitude to Licensing. We had dialogue with the last Housing Minister who unfortunately lost his seat at the last election, so we now have a

new one - Alok Sharma - who marks the 15th holder of the position in 20 years. In a sector that is visibly high on the political agenda, then clearly the high turnover of ministers – serving an average term of just 16 months – begs the question of whether this provides a stable political backdrop to see policy proposals through to fruition and achieve the Government’s muchpublicised goals for increased housing delivery. The previous minister stated that he disagreed with blanket use of licensing, especially borough wide. And in fact we had a meeting with one of his civil servants who was preparing a report on Selective Licensing. The civil servant has now been moved, and we have to assume the report died with his move. We are unaware of the current minister’s (Alok Sharma) view as we have not yet met him; and he has made no statement on licensing. To be fair he has been completely tied up sorting out the aftermath of Grenfell. The first possible indication of the Government’s view is when they decide whether Newham can reintroduce borough wide licensing. If allowed it will open the flood gates for many other boroughs. So does it work? Discretionary Licensing was brought in to deal with problem properties/ landlords/managers, and it works when used like that. Blanket licensing actually does the opposite. Councils can’t see the problems because they are too busy trying to issue thousands of licences. And the people who run the poor properties won’t even bother applying for a licence – so again the good, truthful landlords are left to pick up the bill for all. Level playing field? Finally, I pose the question ‘why do we not have a level playing field?’ private landlords have a whole load of rules and regulations they have to follow; many of which don’t apply to social landlords nor council properties – as fatally proved with the lack of sprinklers in Grenfell. Peter Littlewood Southern Landlords Association

30TH EDITION LANDLORD INVESTOR

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INVESTMENT

SIMON ZUTSHI

I don’t know about you, but personally I did not really enjoy my time at school. I have very bad eyesight and so I had to sit right at the front of the class, and with hair as blonde as mine, and an unusual surname, it is not always easy to just fit in, which is what most kids are desperate to do. However, there was one subject at school which I absolutely loved. It was the compulsory wealth creation lessons that we all had to take. The ones where we were taught all about money, how to make it and manage it, and how to be an entrepreneur so that we could start our own business, not just make money for ourselves but also how we could create jobs and employment for other people. Do you remember those lessons? No? Maybe it was just at my school… I wish. You see unfortunately, no one ever taught me about being an entrepreneur or anything about money, taxes, budgeting or any of the things which would actually be really useful in life. Instead at school, I learnt all about how cocoa grows in Ghana, the first World War, and the moral lessons in Lord of the Flies. Interesting as they were, the problem is that they did not prepare me for life in the real world. Although I did not really enjoy school, I ploughed on because I had bought into the promise that getting a good education will get you a good job. In those days you could join a big

Time for change in our Schools! company like a bank and get a job for life. How things have changed. Having bought into this promise, I went to university (a good one) got a good degree and then to my shock, I found myself unemployed when I graduated in 1994. It took me a year, but I finally got a great job as a graduate trainee at Cadbury’s in Birmingham. Nowadays, just getting a good education is no longer enough. I would not like to be graduating now; with more and more students going to university, there is no guarantee of a good job. There are many unemployed graduates and many employers are using graduates for administration jobs just because there are so many graduates; and what about the kids who don’t even get to university? In summary, the education system is failing generations of young adults. There is a systemic problem with education in the UK (and most of the world) where generations of children are being prepared for life as worker drones. This was exactly what was needed 150

years ago, when people where required for jobs in shops, offices and factories, but the world has changed beyond recognition and will continue to do so with the advance of technology. It is predicted that 20 years from now, 50% of the current jobs will not be needed. So what is going to happen to all of those people? How are they going to make a living? Unfortunately, the education system has not kept up to date with the requirements of the modern day. Then there is the additional problem, that there are many kids in schools today who believe they have no future. Their parents are on welfare state benefits, their grand parents were on benefits, and they assume that is what they will do the same because there are not enough jobs. If we can get these kids to understand that they can take control of their future, that they don’t need a job because they could start their own business then maybe there is a chance that we can kick start the economic future of this country, and the population living here by doing things differently.

30TH EDITION LANDLORD INVESTOR

INVESTMENT

Unfortunately, no one ever taught me about being an entrepreneur or anything about money, taxes, budgeting or any of the things which would actually be really useful in life.

So what can be done about this? For the last few years, at many of our events, I have been sharing my thoughts on this and my desire to do something about it. In January, I made a commitment to myself that this year was going to be the year that I launch a charity to tackle these important issues. The charity will have a two pronged approach. The first is to go into schools and teach kids of certain ages, at a grass roots level, all about finances & entrepreneurship, and to give them a moral compass by helping them to understand about personal responsibility, service and adding values to other people’s lives. This is already well under way. I expect we will be going into our first schools in October this year. The second part of the charity will be to lobby the central Government to get them to change the system and make these topics part of the national curriculum. As I have been researching this over the last few years, I have discovered that there are already a number of charities and organisations which go into schools and do some of this work but there is often an incongruence. For example, you might get someone go into a school from a local bank to talk about money and entrepreneurship, which at one level is great but if the person from the bank is an employee of the bank, do they really know anything about the practicality of being an entrepreneur and running a business? One cynical point of view might be that banks do this because they recognise it can be a good way to recruit new potential life long customers. I don’t want to criticise the very good work already being done in schools by some of these organisation, but I believe we can do it in a different way, which may have more impact on the kids, and thus have more chance of creating real positive change for their future. My idea is to enlist the assistance from some of the

LANDLORD INVESTOR 30TH EDITION

thousands of people who we have helped through the property investors network to become financially free, as a result of their property investing. Whilst we are not the biggest property training company in the UK, we do have, by far, the most successful students, based on the number of people who have actually replaced their income thanks to their property investing. These graduates of our training have not only replaced their income but now importantly they have time to be able to give something back. I am always inspired by how many of our students, once they have fitted their own financial oxygen mask, go onto help other people and get involved in all sorts of charity work. This approach of sending property millionaires and financially independent people into schools might grab the attention of teenage kids, who are by nature hard to get through to, especially if they have already adopted the “know it all attitude”. They might respond better when told that a millionaire is coming into their school to teach them how to make money! We have already had a great response from many of our past students when I shared the vision on a live webinar in April this year, with well over 100 people responding to say they would like to get involved in the charity in some way. We are pulling together a steering committee with teachers, head teachers and educational psychologists to make sure we have the right impact in the schools. We also have people who want to be trained to go into schools and some who have experience of lobbying central Government. I would like to make it clear that this will be a 100% charity. That means that any money raised by the charity will be used to deliver the important training

in the schools. It really annoys me when people set up supposed charities and foundations allegedly to help worthy causes, but where in reality, very little of the donated money actually gets through to help the causes. This is because so many charities are often run very inefficiently, mis-managed or even worse, directors are paid high salaries and also claim personal expenses through the charity. I think that is wrong and unethical. My charity will be run like a business. It won’t have fancy offices. No directors will receive a salary or be able to put any expenses through the charity. Of course, we will need to pay staff to run the charity properly, but I have decided that my company will pick up the cost of the administration and we will start a special support group to meet any additional costs of running this charity. This means that 100% of the money raised by the charity will be used to educate kids in schools. I don’t have any kids of my own, at the moment, and so I have often wondered why I am building a property portfolio and business empire. I now have the answer and this is what is going to drive me for the next decade. The beneficiaries of my estate will,of course, be my immediate family and this new charity which will be my legacy, built to serve long after I am no longer here. If you share this vision of helping provide financial education for our kids in schools and would like to get involved in some way, then I would like to invite you to join me on a live webinar at the end of this month, on which I will share more details about this vision, the work we have already successfully started and how you could be part of it. You can register here: www.pinwebinar.co.uk/schools

FINANCE

PAUL MAHONEY NOVA FINANCIAL

There is presently much debate in the buy to let community and in the press with regards to how recent events and legislative changes are likely to affect the market and whether buy to let is still a viable investment option.

The effects of tax & finance changes on buy to let Although I’m confident that if you’re reading this article that you’d be familiar with the changes, for clarity I will name a few; > Section 24 > Stamp duty premium > BTL mortgage service-ability changes

do not set rents, the market does and if a landlord charges too much fir their property it won’t rent. However, if the changes result in less supply of rental properties available and given there is a growing demand, rents will go up due to the market.

To date landlords have been very resilient and although some surveys suggest a slow down in buying appetite and some considering selling; at Nova Financial we’ve experienced the opposite. Our clients are simply buying properties at lower values and with higher yields predominantly in the North West of England. These properties circumvent the repercussions of the changes by generating more profit, hence tax doesn’t hurt as much. They also fit into the lower stamp duty thresholds and solve mortgage servicing issues.

The number of new purchases have fallen especially since the introduction of the stamp duty premium in April 2016. This is a concern as new builds are the new supply that is required to solve the UK housing crisis. If new builds aren’t bought then they aren’t built and we have very little chance of building the number of houses needed per annum. This will drive house prices and rents higher. I concur with recent comments made by Tory MP Ian Duncan-Smith, that the Government should incentivise landlords to buy new builds to help solve the abovementioned problem.

There was speculation that the changes would result in increased rents due to landlords trying to cover their increased tax bill and buying costs however to date this hasn’t occurred. I believe that many overestimate the landlord’s control over rents as they

It seems very unlikely that section 24 will be reversed any time soon, especially given the Parliament’s current workload with Brexit to be resolved however I’d say there is a slight chance that the Stamp Duty premium could be changed. Many

viewed the changes as an attempt to professionalise the buy to let market which in a way it has done by driving many to invest through limited companies, whether this be good or bad. It is very likely though that landlords were viewed as an easy target, due to bad public opinion, for a tax grab. Buy to let is still a very viable and potentially lucrative investment. At Nova Financial, most of our clients are currently achieving net yields on funds invested of 10%+ and add to that the average growth in housing over the past 20 years per annum of 5%+, that brings the yearly returns on cash invested to over 30%! This return may seem very high but that’s the benefits of high levels of borrowings, at low interest rates when investing in high yielding growth areas. This is what separates property investment as the clear winner from all other investment options. If you have any questions or would like to determine how Nova Financial can be of assistance, please call 0203 8000 600, visit www.nova.financial or email; info@nova.financial

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PROFESSIONAL INSIGHT

PAUL SHAMPLINA LANDLORD ACTION & HAMILTON FRASER

Everyone knows that rogue landlords bring down standards and should be rooted out, but have recent buy-to-let changes gone too far in punishing the good landlords who provide an excellent service and high-quality accommodation, as well as people who actively choose to rent not buy?

Punishing private landlords â&#x20AC;&#x201C; help or hindrance? LANDLORD INVESTOR 30TH EDITION

PROFESSIONAL INSIGHT

Yes, there are bad landlords but also good landlords who offer high spec accommodation at affordable prices with great management service.

In the past eighteen months, the Government appears to have declared war against Britain’s estimated 1.8 million private landlords. Stamp duty has been put up, taxes have increased and the everchanging rules and regulations have left many landlords confused and uninformed about their obligations. The outcome? Well, it’s still early days, but judging by the 49% fall in buy-to-let mortgage lending in the past year, I think it’s safe to say the market is shrinking. One of the supposed driving forces behind the changes is to “level the playing field for homeowners and investors” by making buy-to-let less attractive, which in turn will create greater supply of properties for first-time buyers. But who is this assault on private landlords really helping...or more to my point, hindering? To some people, getting that first step on the property ladder is very important and I agree that there should be more support in helping people achieve their homeowner aspirations. However, we must also remember that the private rented sector provides much-needed homes for those people who are not ready to buy, or quite simply do not want to purchase a property because they are happy having the flexibility of renting. The UK has a lot more students, especially from overseas, who typically want to rent, young professionals are attracted by the freedom as their careers invariably change direction, and even retirees looking for opportunities to move closer to family or travel are opting to rent. Worryingly though, according to The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, rents are likely to rise by 25% over the next five years as landlords scale back their portfolios, leaving tenants fighting over diminished supply.

I have worked with thousands of landlords over the years, some of which it’s fair to say had failed in some part in their duty of care. But these are the minority and you can see examples of where they have gone wrong in Channel Five’s ‘Nightmare Tenants, Slum Landlords’, which Landlord Action features heavily in, trying to educate landlords and tenants on the pitfalls of buy-to-let. However, I have also worked with far more excellent landlords who keep well maintained, beautifully decorated rental homes. They are fully compliant with regulation, have the necessary deposit protection and insurance in place, and attend to their tenant’s every request efficiently and professionally. In addition, I bet there are also lots of landlords and tenants out there who will identify with a situation where patience and empathy has gone a long way. You see, landlords are a diverse group of people clubbed together under one title “landlord”. They can be teachers, doctors, nurses, retirees, the list goes on, but they are also all people. When a tenant has a genuine reason for why they are late with their rent, for example, through sickness or a problem at work, there are many landlords who will be willing to listen to their tenants and support them by granting a little extra time or setting up a payment plan to get them back on track. Remember, most landlords want tenants to stay in properties as long as possible, even by reducing rent, to avoid voids and re-letting costs. Despite recent efforts to increase institutional investment and large-scale PRS developments, in the belief that the consumer (tenant) will be offered a better class of accommodation and local

amenities, the sector remains dominated by small-scale landlords. However, the build-to-rent model, with market rents, may not be suitable for a large proportion of the PRS market, particularly lowincome households. If landlords continue to be vilified and punished, more and more will be forced out of the market. But without any guarantee that it will make a difference to the people who want to buy property, and certainly not in the same way as say reducing stamp duty would, aren’t we just shifting the supply problem from buyers to renters? Yes, there are bad landlords but also good landlords who offer high spec accommodation at affordable prices with great management service. Let us not forget….there are also good tenants and bad tenants, just as there are good businesses and bad businesses – but those that perform well should be praised. Maybe it’s time we stopped the “landlord bashing” and gave some recognition to the ones who are doing a great job in supporting nearly 20% of our housing market! In fact, I think we should have a National Landlord Day to celebrate these unsung heroes and highlight the vastly positive experience of most tenants. A well needed shot in the arm for an increasingly beleaguered sector but I’m not sure how that would go down with the National press, Shelter or Generation Rent? Paul Shamplina is founder of Landlord Action and Brand Ambassador for Hamilton Fraser.

30TH EDITION LANDLORD INVESTOR

LEASEHOLD UPDATE

STEVE JONES LEASEHOLD VALUERS

New leasehold relativity graph offers flat owners a fairer deal in lease extensions Leasehold Valuers launches new leasehold relativity graph to provide flat owners with a fairer and more reliable valuation for lease extensions.

LV 2017 is the first graph to be developed to accurately represent flat owners’ perspective. New graph addresses the problems with existing relativity graphs used by enfranchisement professionals, which often favour the interests of freeholders. The new graph aims to save leaseholders thousands of pounds on the cost of extending the lease on their flat. A leading leasehold enfranchisement valuation specialist has launched a new relativity graph which will provide leasehold flat owners with a fairer and more reliable valuation for their lease extensions. The new LV 2017 Relativity Graph, which has been produced by Leasehold Valuers in conjunction with a statistics specialist at the London School of Economics, is the first relativity graph developed by valuation specialists to better represent the perspective of flat owners.

Leasehold relativity is important because it determines how much a leaseholder must pay to their freeholder to extend the lease on their flat. Leasehold Valuers believes that existing relativity graphs favour the interests of freeholders, at the expense of leaseholders, because they estimate lower relativities and consequently demand that flat owners pay a higher premium for their lease extension. The new LV 2017 graph addresses the problems with existing leasehold relativity graphs and has been made available to professionals working in the enfranchisement sector. Steve Jones, Director of Valuation at Leasehold Valuers, said: “Relativity graphs have been accepted for many years as a justifiable means of calculating relativity. However, it is widely acknowledged that a high degree of scepticism and subjectivity surrounds these graphs, not least because many of them use data from the Prime Central London market, which

is not suitable to be used for a Greater London demographic, and most of the graphs pre-date the property market crash of 2007/8, and are therefore said to be out of date. “The vast majority of relativity graphs have been created by freeholders and the valuers that represent them; as such, they can favour the interests of freeholders at the expense of leaseholders, as leaseholders’ valuers have never seemingly got together and invested in the compilation of a graph that better represents their clients’ perspective. None of the existing graphs available to valuation practitioners can be entirely accurate, and our new relativity graph, LV 2017, seeks to redress this balance. “LV 2017 represents the fairest and most accurate way to determine relativity for flats, as it uses recent data solely derived from relativities collated from over 500 settlements in the Greater London area achieved from January 2015 to December 2016.”

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Leasehold Valuers’ graph is based on 503 settlement agreements achieved by the company over the last two years in the Greater London area. The settlements are equally spread across Greater London, with no one borough or area being disproportionately represented. Each settlement has been scrutinised in order to respond to the criticism levelled at existing relativity graphs and to ensure that all possible anomalies have been removed. The data was then reviewed by Anna Louise Schröder of the Department of Statistics at the London School of Economics, who was responsible for plotting the LV 2017 Relativity Graph. What does the LV 2017 graph mean for leaseholders? Leasehold Valuers hopes that the new method will reduce the costs faced by leasehold flat owners when they need to extend the lease of their property. For example, using the LV 2017 Relativity Graph to calculate the premium payable to extend the lease on a property worth £250,000 with 72 years remaining on the lease, the average leaseholder would pay £11,205 to extend their lease. By comparison, leaseholders would face charges of £16,715 if the Gerald Eve graph was used and £20,090 if the Savills relativity graph was applied, which were both compiled using Prime Central London data. What is relativity? Once the lease length of a property has fallen below 80 years it is said to be worth less than its full value. The property continues to lose value as the lease length falls. Leaseholders have a statutory right to extend their lease – once the lease has been extended the value of the property generally increases again. Generally-speaking, the difference in the value of a flat with an extended lease compared to one without is known as its ‘relativity’. When a flat owner then extends their lease, they are legally obliged to pay 50% of the resulting uplift in the property’s value (the ‘marriage value’), which is calculated using a relativity graph. Relativity is expressed as a percentage. A higher relativity means that once

LANDLORD INVESTOR 30TH EDITION

the lease length is extended, the corresponding increase in the property’s value will be less, compared to a lower relativity being applied. By using a lower relativity percentage, freeholders attempt to support the existence of greater marriage value and (because they receive 50% of the marriage value) therefore receive greater compensation from the leaseholder for the lease extension. What are the problems with existing relativity graphs? The recent Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) decision in the case of Sloane Stanley Estate v Mundy (2016) criticised each of the most frequently used relativity graphs, and found that much of the evidence used to compile them had been “altered subjectively” to achieve “favourable settlements” for freeholders. In the case of Mundy, the Upper Tribunal further suggested that Real World Evidence (RWE) could be used to calculate relativity. RWE uses evidence of recent market transactions around the valuation date to provide a useful starting point for determining the value of an existing lease. However, in practice it is very rare to find examples of the sale of similar properties to underpin the use of RWE, and this method is at

least as subjective as using graphs to determine the likely value of a flat. Steve Jones continued: “The Mundy decision has divided opinion on relativity like never before and generated an increase in variation and inconsistency between practitioners. “Our experience shows that freeholders’ valuers have been increasingly using this uncertainty to demand disproportionately low relativities (and consequently much higher premiums) from leaseholders for lease extensions, by using anomalous RWE ‘evidence’ of sales of flats held on short, unextended leases to manipulate relativity calculations in their clients’ favour.” “We hope that the LV 2017 graph will set a new benchmark for relativity valuations in the residential leasehold sector and redress the balance for leaseholders in the determination of premiums payable for lease extensions. “We are confident that our graph is one of the least subjective and fairest relativity graphs now available to practitioners, and we hope that valuers will consider referring to our alternative graph when calculating leasehold relativity.” Steve Jones is Director of Valuation at Leasehold Valuers

30TH EDITION LANDLORD INVESTOR

Q&A INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

Tracey Hanbury speaks to Mike Holt from The Landlord’s Pension Hi Mike, briefly tell us about how The Landlord’s Pension can help property investors? Most people don’t know that they can invest their pension in property. There are literally millions of people in the UK sitting on pension funds with no control of their money, but what is most concerning is that they have never been made aware that they can take control of their pension before age 55 and invest it in property. We help our clients to do just this; to take control of old frozen pension funds and to invest them into property. There are many myths that investing in property using a pension is expensive and time consuming. This just isn’t the case, we often have new clients investing their pension within 4-6 weeks. That’s interesting, can you explain what you mean about investing before age 55? The rules state that you cannot withdraw money from a pension for personal use before age 55, but what you can do is to keep the money in the pension and invest it in to property before age 55. People often miss this very important point. What type of property do your clients invest in? There are 2 types of client, those that want full control of the money such as small one-off developers and those

that want to invest in property but don’t have the time to manage the money. The latter of the two are simply searching for the most secure property investment with the highest return. The attraction is that property is an investment they fully understand. The feedback we get most often is that a traditional stocks and shares pension is just too difficult to understand and too volatile. What level of returns do your clients generally earn and can the returns be fixed? Our clients have achieved as much as a total of 44% over 3 years through a range of property investments. We’ve got many clients who have given wonderful references about the gains they have made and the simple manner in which they achieved them. More often than not the returns are fixed at the outset. So it’s not difficult to invest in property using a pension? No, not at all, it’s really quite simple. A client just needs the right type of pension to allow them to invest in property. We can help to arrange this in addition to finding property investments. How much does it cost to set up a property pension? From as little as £500 plus VAT. There

are no traditional percentage fees or hidden commissions it’s just a one off flat fee and then it’s over to the client to start investing. That’s incredible, how long does it take and is there a lot of paperwork? We take care of all of the paperwork and a new property pension technically known as a Small Self-Administered Scheme can be set up in just 7-10 days. In closing, do you have anything you can suggest to people that may be considering this? Why would you not invest your pension in property – an investment you understand - over the volatility of stocks and shares? Just don’t sit on it and do nothing when we can help with the whole process. The longer a pension is not invested wisely the less you will have at retirement. Investing in property with a pension is nothing new because it’s been possible to do this since 1989, unfortunately most people do not know how or where to start we’re looking to change that. Thanks Mike, finally how can someone get in touch to ask more questions or to set up a property pension? They can call me at my office on 01235 426666, enquire directly through the website www.thelandlordspension. co.uk or email me mike@ thelandlordspension.co.uk

Why would you not invest your pension in property – an investment you understand over the volatility of stocks and shares?

LANDLORD INVESTOR 30TH EDITION

TENANCY DEPOSIT SCHEME

MIKE MORGAN TENANCY DEPOSIT SCHEME

Busting the myths on tenancy deposit protection The Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) is the longest established deposit protection scheme which offers landlords and agents both insured and custodial deposit protection. Since 2007 TDS has been helping landlords get deposit protection right and here we answer some frequently asked questions and bust the myths of deposit protection. Can I claim from a tenant’s deposit if I didn’t provide an inventory?

the start and end of the tenancy, beyond fair wear and tear.

custodial scheme is a service that holds the deposit on your behalf.

A tenancy deposit is an amount of money taken by a landlord and held in security against the tenant’s obligations under the tenancy agreement. Deductions made from a tenancy deposit should be to remedy a loss suffered by the landlord and is most commonly to pay for cleaning, damage, or to settle rent arrears.

An inventory is not a requirement, however in the absence of this document it is very difficult for our adjudicators to make an award.

The Tenancy Deposit Scheme offers both of these deposit protection services; you choose which scheme suits you best.

Inventories are a tried and tested method of demonstrating the contents and condition of the property at the start and end of the tenancy and are usually a key piece of evidence to support a claim.

Insured Deposit Protection

If the tenant challenges the deductions, the burden of proof lies with the landlord to show that the tenant has breached the tenancy agreement and that the landlord has suffered a loss due to that breach. Where the landlord’s claim is related to the condition of the property (as opposed to rent arrears), the starting point for the adjudicator is whether the condition has deteriorated between

What is the difference between insured and custodial deposit protection? The main difference between insured and custodial deposit protection is where the deposit is held. Insured deposit protection allows the landlord to hold the deposit in an account of their own choosing, whereas the

• No joining fee • Market leading rates • You hold the deposit • You repay directly at the end of the tenancy Custodial Deposit Protection • No joining fee • Fast, free, secure • We hold the deposit • Quick repayment process at the end of the tenancy

30TH EDITION LANDLORD INVESTOR

TENANCY DEPOSIT SCHEME

A clear and comprehensive inventory is a key piece of evidence in dispute resolution. In the inventory, include the cleanliness and condition of each item in order to ensure that a before and after comparison can easily be made.

Whether you chose TDS Insured or TDS custodial we are specialists in deposit protection. We are the only not for profit deposit protection scheme providing deposit protection to suit you. My tenant hasn’t signed the Prescribed Information – does that affect my deposit protection status? The legislative requirement is set out in The Housing (Tenancy Deposits) (Prescribed Information) Order 2007 and requires that the landlord gives the tenant the opportunity to sign any document containing the information provided by the landlord. TDS does recommend that the landlord/agent take as many steps as necessary to give themselves proof that this was provided to the tenant.

Using your evidence, you should be able to prove that the Prescribed Information was sent in reasonable time. For example if you sent by post, we would recommend sending recorded delivery and keeping the receipt. Recorded delivery also provides you with a signature and time/date of delivery upon completion meaning that you can identify who received the document. When sending by post it is recommended that you leave enough time for the item to be delivered, even with delays and get a receipt of postage. In short, the requirements of the prescribed information are legislative, rather than required by TDS, and the tenant’s failure to sign the document does not prevent access to TDS or our dispute resolution service. The requirement is to give the tenant the opportunity to sign it.

Whichever method you use to give the Prescribed Information to the tenant there is usually a way for you to prove you sent this information. For example, if sending via email, send with read receipts, request confirmation of receipt and follow up a few days later. If you are providing the information in person, you will of course have an opportunity to ask the tenant to sign it there and then.

If a tenant thinks that the landlord has not complied with the legislation, they may raise an action in court for noncompliance. TDS will not consider any such claims, and we do not take the serving of the prescribed information into account when adjudicating over the return of the deposit.

The tenant is saying that it arrived after the 30 day period – am I now liable for not protecting the deposit properly?

As with many of these questions, the answer usually lies in the tenancy agreement. It is always best to lay out all aspects of the tenancy in the

LANDLORD INVESTOR 30TH EDITION

Who gets the interest on the tenancy deposit?

agreement so that questions like this can be easily answered. The answer also depends on the type of deposit scheme you have chosen to use. If you are using a custodial Tenancy Deposit Scheme A custodial scheme is free to use, as the deposit scheme is funded by the interest generated from all the deposits held by the scheme. If you are using a custodial scheme you do not need to include any information in your tenancy agreement about the interest on the deposit. If you are using an Insured Tenancy Deposit Scheme An insured scheme allows the landlord to hold the deposit in an account of their choosing for the duration of the tenancy for a small fee. In this case, to avoid any arguments later down the line it is best practice to include information in the tenancy agreement about who is entitled to any interest earned during the tenancy. If there is no mention of the interest in the tenancy agreement then an argument could be made that the interest belongs to the tenant, as it is technically the tenant’s money. It is essential that the tenancy agreement covers all aspects of the tenancy to prevent uncertainty. Mike Morgan is Director of Dispute Resolution at TDS

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KEVIN WRIGHT NINJA INVESTOR PROGRAMME

Refinancing at true value Fast fluid finance is the ability to create a flow of your cash from one project to the next as seamlessly as possible. If you want to achieve faster growth on your property investments, this will be your main objective. Unfortunately, it’s an area where a number of investors fail – repeatedly. When you’ve bought a property below market value (BMV) and then refurbed it your aim is to refinance the property at a higher value and extract as much cash as possible to recycle into the next deal/ project. Where this strategy falls down is when the mortgage lender’s valuer does not share your opinion of its uplift in market value.

The mind-set of the mortgage lender’s valuer The valuer will be focused on valuing it at the purchase price you paid a few months previously, unless he sees compelling reasons to do otherwise. It’s your responsibility to explain why the condition of the property now is different to when you purchased it. This is the key to keeping your cash moving from deal to deal, not finding yourself in a cul-de-sac. It’s important to do your pre-purchase calculations based on actual facts, not estimates. How to IMPROVE I use 7 steps to overcome the lender’s surveyor’s mind-set – using the acronym IMPROVE. I is for Images: Take photos BEFORE you do any work as well as after – and a few ‘during’ photos will add depth. Take lots of photos, not just one or two.

the valuer knows this or they may not take this into account. Ensure any comparisons are SOLD prices, not ‘on the market prices’. R is for Refurb: Provide all schedules of work – the more detailed, the better. Aspire to the level of a quantity surveyor’s report (OK, maybe not quite so detailed, but not just a list of units). O is for Occupy: Make the place look ready to move in by furnishing as far as possible, whether you buddy up with other investors to have a store of furniture or rent it for a day, it makes a difference. V is for Valuation: Engage your own RICS surveyor to do a valuation report, similar to the one required by the mortgage lender. It sets a benchmark for the uplifted property value.

For example, if you’ve bought a property for £100K; spent £20K refurbishing it to a high standard. Your due diligence tells you it should now be worth £150K. But the mortgage lender’s valuer values it at £125K.

M is for Make the effort: Turn up to the valuation so you can ensure the surveyor has all the paperwork, before, during and after photos, schedules of work. Be friendly, approachable and build rapport.

E is for Expectations: The key concern of any lender’s valuer is, without tenants and furniture, how does the property’s appearance compare with adjacent properties? If you’ve converted your property to an HMO you’ll need to have made significant changes, with more than cosmetic alterations, so the property doesn’t look like a single residence,

Setbacks like this could take you out of the game – simply because you’ve got no cash left; it’s all stuck in the properties that you own!

P is for Purpose: If you’ve changed the purpose of the property – from a single residence to flats or an HMO (with planning permission etc.) – ensure

Addressing each of these seven steps carefully will ensure you keep your cash moving from deal to deal and enable you to grow your investment faster.

Kevin Wright teaches property investors intelligent funding. Find out more on his website www.ninjainvestorprogramme.co.uk.

30TH EDITION LANDLORD INVESTOR

The dates for the upcoming Ninja Networking Blitz meetings are: Bristol 26th September Southampton 28th September Cambridge 5th October Birmingham 18th October

SERVICE PROVIDER

EnviroVent shortlisted in national energy awards Ventilation manufacturer EnviroVent has revealed that its new energiSava 200 MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery) unit with myenvirovent App has been shortlisted in the Energy Awards 2017 in two categories for Smart Product of the Year and Energy Efficient Product of the Year HVAC&R. EnviroVent’s energiSava 200, which is now available with the innovative myenvirovent app, was recognised for its extensive range of features and functionality that give a homeowner greater control over a home’s indoor air quality. The app also makes the process of installing and commissioning a unit even simpler and quicker. Andy Makin, Manager Director at EnviroVent, said: “We are really excited to be shortlisted in two categories of the Energy Awards.. The compact, lightweight design of the energiSava 200 unit, combined with its energy efficiency properties, makes it ideal for small to medium size houses and apartments.” He adds: “One of the reasons why energiSava won was because of its innovative new app. We were one of the first ventilation manufacturers to release our own App for an MVHR unit and we’ve had a great response from both homeowners and installers. It fits perfectly with the trend towards technology in the home, whilst offering practical benefits and actually adding value to the ventilation experience for the homeowner.” The Energy Awards event will be held at a glittering ceremony at the London Hilton Hotel on 6th December. The energiSava 200 is extremely versatile and can be fitted on the wall, floor or ceiling. It enables housebuilders to meet System 4 of Building Regulations Part F requirements, improving indoor air quality in a home.

The energiSava 200 MVHR unit incorporates Intellitrac® Technology, which is a unique humidity tracking control that allows the unit to run continuously on trickle, providing allyear-round healthy indoor air quality in the home. No user intervention is required, as its intelligent automatic controls constantly monitor the average humidity level. . This allows the system to sense any rise in humidity and increase the extract rate in direct correlation to quietly and efficiently control condensation. Once the humidity falls, the extract rate tracks back down again, saving energy. The myenvirovent app allows the installer to set up the ventilation rates of the energiSava 200 with complete visibility of the unit's current status at the touch of a button, which saves considerable time on-site. It allows them to connect directly to the unit through the app without the need for a wireless internet connection and to access the dedicated installer mode to commission the airflow rates and select additional options in the unit’s ventilation settings page. EnviroVent has now extended its myenvirovent app to its energiSava 250 and 380 units. The app uses a secure connection from the unit through the homeowner's router, therefore is completely private and cannot be access externally. The app then allows the MVHR unit to be controlled using an iphone or android device from anywhere

in the house. Practical benefits for the homeowner include notifications through the app when filter changes are due and user access to EnviroVent’s technical support team with any questions or queries. By using the app, homeowners can also access user guides and technical documents and can provide feedback and future product requests to the EnviroVent R&D team. EnviroVent offers an extensive range of MVHR systems, including the energiSava 200 for small to medium size homes, right through to the energiSava 400 for larger homes. As a UK manufacturer of ventilation systems, EnviroVent has a factory and distribution centre, located on two separate sites in Harrogate. The company supplies its energy efficient products to UK housebuilders, local authorities and housing associations, as well as homeowners and private landlords. Envirovent will be exhibiting at Our National Landlord Investment Shows including Manchester 12th October at Manchester United Football Club, Cardiff City Football Club on Wednesday 25th October and London Olympia on Tuesday 7th November come along for a demo! Show tickets available by visiting our website www.landlordinvestmentshow.co.uk 30TH EDITION LANDLORD INVESTOR

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NEXT AUCTION DATES 30 October-3 November (Entries by 2 October) 11-15 December (Entries by 13 November)

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Suitable Lots include: Vacant Residential for Improvement; Residential and Commercial Investments; Vacant Commercial; All Types of Land; Development Sites & Conversion Projects; Garages (lock-up & compounds); Freehold Ground Rents and the Unique and Unusual. If you are unsure whether your land or property is suitable please call us - we are here to help you.

For more information call 0345

8500333 or visit our website cliveemson.co.uk

Landlords Insurance Specialist Landlords Insurance Specialist

Maximise Maximise your profits! your profits! Portfolios • Buy Buy to to Let Let ••Unoccupied Unoccupied Portfolios •

Blocks Tenure••Commercial CommercialProperty Property Blocks of of Flats Flats • • Multiple Multiple Tenure

Buy online online now nowat at

www.propertyquotedirect.co.uk www.propertyquotedirect.co.uk or call us on on 08081 08081682 682843 843